Shelf and rack door



April i6, E929, WQ N. vANcE SHELF AND RACK Don Filed Oct. 11, 1924 3 Sheets-Shet 2 pril i6, E929. w. N. vANcE SHELF AND RACK DOOR Filed 0G11. 1l, 1924 5 Sheeb-She'et 5 wu, lum m. 1

i Patented 'pr. i6, E929.

wALrnaN. vANcE, or CHICAGO HEIGHTS, ILLINoIs,.`AssIGNoR 'ro DURAND STEEL LOCKER COMPANY, OF CHICAGO,

ILLINdIs, A.' coaroRA'rIoN or ILLINOIS.

srInLr AND aacx Doon.

Application mea amber 11, 1924. serial No. 742,962.

This invention relates in general to shelving, racks, lockers and the like, and has more particular reference to the provlsion of door closures for,v shelves, racks, and the like.

A principal object of the invention 1s the provision of door closures for shelves and the like which may be readily positioned on lshelving already'erected and notdesigned particularly to receive such do'or closures,

and this without reforming the shelving parts lor the provision of complicated, cumbersome or unsightly iliary members. t

Shelving, and particularly metal shelving,

is usually provided soy that the shelves may `be adjusted vertically at different distances one above the other, b'eing on this account adj ustably supported from frame uprights or y partitions. My present invention from eertaiu aspects contemplates the use of the shelf receiving portions of said uprights to i facilitate attachment of the door, and the invention has for a 'further and highly imwhich may interlock with the -front-to-back sides of the uprights and preferably in the openings or other agencies provic ed in the uprights for holding the shelves, and this while at the -same time 'permitting unrestricted adjustment of the shelves in the space closed by said door closures.

' The invention has for a provision of doors which may be provided for the locker after the shelves are erected and without requiring evenV` temporary re- .'moval of the shelves or the unloading of them as an incident to the attachment of the doors. i 40 'A still further object of the invention is the provision of a door closure for shelving and the like having hinged connections ad justable lengthwise of the space to be closed by the -doors andlengthwise also of the doors themselves.

Another important objectv of the invene tion is the provision of means for locking one or more doors shelves, and thiswithout limiting the range and freedom of'adjustment of said shelves.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a door closure and ahinge connection to shelving to. which the door is atattaching or other aux .v

portant object the provision of door closuresfurther object the l to readily adjustable f tached, which will by reason of its construction and the manner of attaching it to the frame permit of the use of relatively light material to attain the necessary and desired strength, rigidity and durability.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of shelf closure which may be provided to' extend merely over a part of the shelf assemblage without marring the appearance of the whle assemblage and which may be shifted to other parts of the assembly or added to by the addition of other closures. i Numerous other objects and advanta the invention will be apparent as it islietter understood from the following description, which taken in connection with' the accoml)fes of panying drawings discloses a preferred eml bodiinent thereof.

Referring to the drawing. Flg. l is a front elevation of a portion of 'a section of the shelves provided with a door closure embodying my present invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken Substantially on the line 2 2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a section takeiri substantially on the line 8-3 of Fig. 2 g' Fig. a is a diagrammatic view of a blank cut to appropriate form.k to form a hinge connection;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a hinge connection formed from the blank shown' in Fig. 4; y

Figs. 6 and 7 are side views of one of the fastening bolts used to retain the hinge in closed position;

Fig. 8 is a View taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 isa section taken substantially on the line 9 9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 1() is a perspective view of the latch 'member adapted for attachment to one -of' the yerticallyadjustable shelves; and

Fig. 11 is a partial perspective detail of the companion latch bar carried by thedoor itself.

kFor the purpose of illustrating-the invention Ihave shown on thedrawing a portion of metal shelving comprising tubular uprights 21 connected by front-to-back partitions 22 and also byv front and back bearingsl or crossfsupports 23.\The uprights 21 are the present instance is composed of alower smaller tapered part 25 and an upper slightly larger tapered part 26 and a top enlarged opening 27. The cross-supports 23 corre-v spond in number with the number of shelves employed. The ends of the cross-supports are located or wedged tightly in the lower slot parts 25 of the appropriate slots and upon lthem rest the edges of the shelves28. The shelves 28 have parts engaged at or near the bottom of the intermediate Islot parts26. Beyond the bearers the elvesare preferably bent down at 29 a d back upon themselves again'at 31 to provide edges 32 disposed 'closely adjacent the bottom of the bearersy 23. These shelves are adjustable and arrangeable at irregular intervals between the uprights by moving the cross-supports and-the shelvessto produce engagement with desired or a pr priately located slots 24. So much of the shelving shown on the drawing as has just-been described -is well `known in the art to which this invent1on relates; being disclosed in numerousearlier l on the drawing byv my assignee, DurandA is adapted to be patents to me, and made in the form shown Steel Locker Company. More particular description of it is not therefore thought to be necessary.

The shelf section shown on t drawing rovided with a doorclosure comprising oors' 33 and 34 hinged to adjacent Vuprightsand overlapping at the -center to close the space therebetween and throughout. any given or desired portion ver# tieally ofthe shelf assemblage. The hinged sides of the two doors 33 and 34 ,are identical in the present instance and a description of the hinge arrangement of one door will ap- Each door is of sheetmetal and at itsAv hinged side isf bent back atright angles at 35 4to'dprovid'e an. inwardly extending part 36 an therebehind is bent to substantially semi-circular form as indicated at 37, the.

semi-circular portion 37 forming with the body of thefrnt wall a recess or internal ybearing for the hinged connection. The lextreme edge 38 is spaced b ack from the front I wally an appreciable distancezfor a purpose to be presently described.

the slots,7 the material-ofthe curved Corresponding to the' away parts may be d1sposed accurately opposite o adjacent the'intermediate slot parts 26 of t e. slots 24 when the 4door is in proper position. The hinge member is shown in ig. 5'and consists of a single sheet of metal bent to provide an elongated cylindrical part 41'fron`1' which an ,arm 42 extends and' this arm isl reinforcedl by flanges 43 at itssides.

The edges of the flanges l43'are cutaway at 44 to accurately lit the side faces of the tubular uprights 21 and a bolt receiving:v

open'ng 45'is located in position to come opposite thevvertical 'center of the slot 24.

The blank -from which this hinge member is constructed is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 4. From this ligure it will be noted 'that the blank is of T form, the head 46 of the T being the part forming the cylindrical vportion 41l of the hinge member, and the tail 47 thereof forming the arm 42. The flanges l43, of course, are extensions of the side of the body of the arm and are cut at 48 at their ends from the part 46 and bent'up on parallel :relation shown in Fig. 5. The outer edge of the head 46 of the blank is slotted at 51 to permit this edge of the' blankl .to be bent around and embrace the adjacent ,lines of bend 49 to bring them to the desired y slid lengthwisetherebetween to adjustthe "i vhinge connection vertically into desired relation with any of the slots 24. This slidingmovement, however, can only occurwhen the hinged member is laid back against the door as' indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3.

This relation can not be assumed when the hinged members are secured to the uprights for the. reason thatat such timesl the'door is -unable to assume the substantial parallelism'with the hinge arms shown 4by reason of the shelves and cross bearers'bei'ng in the Wa as will be readily understood.

ach hinged member, isv fastened to an upright by a bolt 52'having an oblong head 53. This head may be inserted through the intermediate part of the slot and Ithereafter turned to dispose the longer axis horizontally as is indicated in Fig. 2. The bolt thus arranged extends through the opening 45 and receives a nut 54 to fasten the hinge member ti htly in place. In the form of the invention shown on the drawing the .hinge member may thus be secured to any of the slots whether the particular slot engaged by the hinge member be actually supporting shelves or not. The hinge members may t us.bey positioned/ in any convenient slots without disturbing. the vertical adjustment of the shelves or requiring .any par-,.- rticular formation of the tubular uprights.' It'w-ill,' of course, be understood that -it is not necessary to the invention from several' aspects that the arrangement be sueln as to permit a sheli and hinge connection'to be engaged in the same slot at the same time. i The two doors are provided with inwardly extending v@anges 5 5'and56 at their adj aeent y zontal operative place as may 28 and the lower ings and 66 of the l This latching this arm terminating A struck up lip-7&1 is' the presence of the adapted to be raised and lowered in manipl ends and the one in the presentinstanceby securing an angle iron 57 t0 one of the door flanges 55, ,the flange 58 of the angle iron being'arranged to overlie the body of the other door.

A latch keeper is provided for latcliing or locking the doors in closed relation and as shown on the drawing is attached to'a carrier -and to one or more of the shelves. A metal strap of'dcsired width is lbent at 59 and 61 to provide an upper horizontal part 62..and an intermediate downward and forwardly inclined part 3 and a lower horiportio 64. The parts 62 and 64 are provided with perfor-ations 65 and 66 to receive fastening bolts from the shelf. This latcliing member is secured in i be seen by viewing Figs. 8 and 9 and with the upper horizontal' part 62 resting against thepunderface of the shelf against the underfaces of the cross bearer 23 andshelf edge ing through the shelf and through the openlatch member. The the shelf through which these bolts extend may be openings provided for other purposes as for example the reception of fastening devices for shelf dividers and shelf partitions or they may not as conditions may render expedient.

A latching or locking elenientfior member formed preferably of a bar 71, havingkeyhole slots 72, is positioned behind the outer overlapping door -and against its flange 55.

bar is held slidably in position-by pins or headed rivets 7 3' which may enter the large portion of the keyhole slots and have sliding engagement in the smaller. A number of lips 7 4 are struck up and extend out from the latch bar in position to--engage upon and behind a hodkedarm forming a continuation .of the part 64 ofi the latch, in bent-np portieri 76 openings in forming the hook.. provided adjacent each possible shelf posi-I tion when the shelves are carrie slots so that the latch bar be engaged by' a latch keeper supported in any'ofl the supporting slots. A portion 7 of the latch forms a door stop and engages the inner edge of the flange 56 of the vinner door thus preventing -the' edges of the shelves .from coming in contact with the door flanges and preventing marring of the shelves through doors. The latch bar is vulatinef the door by the handle 78 disposed outsid and having a pair of inwardly extending lips 79 disposed through slots in the door and secured by bolts or screws 81 with the latch bar.

It will be manifest that both the hinge action and the locking action of theI door readily permit of full freedom of shelf adis caused to overliedthe other sembled in the horizontal part 64 resting 32, bolts G7 and 68 extend` thereon to correspond with 'said shelf supporting slots,

'I supporting s dv vin the justment and that the parts may allbe asreinoval of any of the shelves or even their unloading. The hinge connection is such that the forces sustained by it fall along the plane of the arms of the hinge members and transversely lof the bolts 52 so that there is little likelihood of damage to any of the parts and they may therefore be safely iliade of relatively light material.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

Iclainiza 1.- Metal shelving, comprising spaced uprights having a vertical series of spaced slots adapted to furnish detachable engagement, asupport for shelves to provide a tier of vertically adjustable shelves supported between 'said upriglits, shelf members engaging portions of Asaid slots, a door having hinged engaging portions spaced the spacing of hinge members for said doors, said4 hinge members heilig secured to said uprights by means of conL nections Vengaging portions of said shelf lots not occupied by. said ysuported shelves, a latch keeper carried by a shelf of said tier, a latching bar shiftably mounted on said door, said latching'" bar having a vertical series of 'spaced apart lat/ching portions arranged to provide engagement between said latch keeper and said latching bar in any adjusted position Aof the shelf on which said latch lkeeper is mounted.

j 2. A metal shelving, comprising spaced uprights having spaced slots providing means for supporting a shelf ata variable elevation between said uprights, a shelf engaging portions of said slots, a door arranged to operate between said uprightsl and having hinge engaging portions spaced shelving without requiringl iio along a vertical edge thereof, said hinge enl gaging portions registering with said spaced slots, a hinge secured in one of said hinge engagingA ortions and in the unoccupied ortion o a `registering shelf supporting slot, 'a latch keeper and door stop carried by said'shelf, a shiftable latching bar carried by said door and having spaced catches thereon and arranged to engage said latch keeper in allmounted positions of said keeper corresponding with the possible mounted positions of the shelf.

3. A metal shelving, comprising uprights having spaced slotstherein, a shelf adapted ported between said uprights, a" door hav-l to 'removably engage i registering slots' provide a vertically adjustable shelf suping a plurality of hinge engaging portions spaced u on an ed e, the spacing of-which corresponds witht espacingof sald slots a/hinge engaging one offsaid uprights. an

latching of the door at anfv vertically adjusted position of said shel 4. Metal shelving, comprising uprights having shelf supporting slots in their sides,

.shelves supported in said' slots to provide an adjutable shelf tier, a door closure ar-v ranged to close against said shelf tier and hinges adjustably engaging said door closure and vacant ,portions of the slots ink which said shelves are-supported.

. supporting portions register-in 5. Metal shelving, 'comprising uprights having spaced slots arranged to support,

shelf members, shelf members engaging portions of said slots to provide l artierq'o'f adjustable shelves, a door having hinge with the spaced slots of s aiduprights 'hinges-engaging unoccupied portions 'of said shelf supporting slots and said'registeringv hinge supporting door portions.

6i Metal shelvlng, comprising uprights having spaced shelf `supporting slots,

shelves supported in said slots, a hinged;

door supported between v said uprights, a latching par A'carried by said door and having latching elements spaced thereon to correspond withthe said slots in said uprights, .and members carried by said shelves for engaging said latching elements for locking thedoor in closed position.

7 .'Metal shelving, comprising uprights having shelf supporting slots in their sides, .said slots being adapted to adjustablly support shelves atvarious heights, shelves supported in said slots, door hinged to said uprights a latching bar carried by one of the doolis, said bar having a plurality of spaced portions thereon corresponding with said spaced slots in the `uprights and arranged to engage means on one of said shelves to lock the doors in closed relation.

of sheet metal and having an inwardly e tending flange arranged adjacent said u 8. In a metal shelving, uprights, a dor l right, a portion of' said flange being slit.

from the remainder and rolled upon itself, a

hinge member for connecting said door to. said' upright, said hinge member having a rolled portion entering into hin e relation with the rolled portion of said ange, and

said hinge member engaging above andbelow said rolled portion of the ilange.

WALTER N, vANoE. 

